If anyone needed convincing about the depth and complexity of the collective creative experience, a quick visit to Ticketstubs should close the deal. Here’s a collaborative weblog, open to public posts, that simply asks its visitors to scan a favorite ticket stub (to an arts event, sports event, rock show, whatever), and post the image […]
Universities as urban planners and arts patrons
Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell has discovered that major universities are today’s urban planners. As city government planning offices have become underfunded and politically weak, universities have picked up the slack, extending their efforts beyond classrooms and dorms and into multi-use neighborhoods and mixed-use downtown areas. Emerging from a panel on the subject, Campbell […]
The instant ‘season sampler’
In an effort to engage their loyal (and potentially loyal) audiences for an upcoming subscription push, many arts organizations have attempted a ‘season sampler’…a CD full of selections from the music or shows to come, occasionally with an audio track or two from the artistic director, talking about why it will be their ‘best season […]
A new content engine
Faithful readers will notice a whole new look to the weblog starting today. I’ve just switched from our old blog system to MovableType, the up-and-comer in the weblog world. The new system will allow all sorts of new options and opportunities, but most of the benefits are under the hood…making this weblog more compatible with […]
Mergers and inquisitions
The 2002 merger of the Utah Symphony and Opera is a story worthy of, well, an opera (it’s already the subject of a Harvard Business case study, which is sort of like an opera with financials). Full of intrigue and trials, the merger was intended to shore up and streamline the efforts of the two […]
The higher math of government arts funding
Financial troubles at the Sydney Dance Company (SDC) and other SOBs (symphony, opera, ballet) in Australia are being laid at the feet of government, at least among some in the arts industry there. Says this article: The financial crisis at the Sydney Dance Company, and the dismal affairs of the three state orchestras singled out […]
The future of independent media
More great stuff from the Global Business Network and Andrew Blau (both involved in The Future of Philanthropy report I linked to earlier), this time exploring the future of independent media in the real world and on-line. The report explores the changing shape and structure of the media marketplace, as the means of production become […]
The education reflex
I had a blast last week participating in the special ArtsJournal collaborative weblog asking ‘is there a better case to be made for the arts?‘ There was so much depth and context to the entries and the comments, I don’t need to dwell on it here. But one recurring theme kept striking me throughout: our […]
The blog next door
I’ll be working the blog next door this week — a collaborative weblog exploring the recent Rand study, Gifts of the Muse, and its implications for arts advocacy, arts management, and arts in the public purpose. Come take a look, and lend a comment to the conversation.
That’s how much we want the money
In an surprise ending to a story I linked to earlier this week, the entire board of the Lodi Historical Society in Lodi, Wisconsin, switched gears at the last moment and resigned, clearing the way for the organization to receive over $500K in bequest money. In the town of 2900, the skirmish over a donor’s […]
